It is the clear and obvious decision, following a sickly holiday season, for CT schools to close their doors. Temporarily switching to remote learning could save lives and reduce transmission after the most significant rise in cases to date. With a growing number of students improperly wearing masks and many unvaccinated, the schools are suffering from empty classrooms and absent teachers.

Long term online school is detrimental to the learning experience, however, schools should take time to set proper and effective guidelines, as well as letting the holiday season spike die down, without infecting more people than necessary. 

With the positivity rate in Connecticut reaching an all time high, 22.6%, Covid is easier to catch than ever. Hospitalizations for children under 18 are off the charts. According to CNN, 672 children were admitted to hospitals everyday across the country, with the week ending on sunday. As well as, the US as a whole having 325,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in children. 

According to ct.gov, 5 people under 18 have died from the latest variant of covid. Another 140,829 have been infected.

Although students are being more seriously affected, they also still have a deeper effect on the vulnerable community that surrounds them at their homes, friends’ homes, and families’ homes. The spread of the virus does not stop once the students leave their classrooms. Many share spaces with those who are immunocompromised and would not fare well against the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

Students still eligible to attend school are suffering from lack of quality instruction. With nearly every school in the country powering through staff shortages, any mildly educated body is placed in a classroom. Students are being supervised but not educated. Even if teachers are sick, they can work from home ensuring that their students are getting the guidance they need. 

Long term online school does not benefit anybody, and has shown to deteriorate the mental health of our staff and students. Most school attendees would agree with that. But protecting staff and the students of families is important for a multitude of reasons. Our educators are important, not only to the education system, but to the students. They are important people students form connections with, and many have lifelong impacts. 

However, covid is spreading rapidly throughout schools. Despite neverending efforts from administrations across the country, it does not seem there is an effective solution that does not include shutting down, or waiting for people to get sick. The safety of the community is paramount and should be treated as such.